Tourists for the Day!

Hello Everyone!

I didn't blog yesterday because Brett and I spent the entire day traveling down to Hong Kong Island and exploring! I'll chronicle the adventure now- it's bound to be a long one!

We left the apartment and took the MTR down to the south end of Kowloon. There we crossed town, and I saw the first of a more "touristy" Hong Kong. This is where the Peninsula hotel is- or, in a word: swank-ville. We saw some designer stores, most of which we were clueless about. Near the ports, we walked through a mall which was connected to where a giant cruise ship had just docked. The indoor shopping was also very full of designer items. I got a HUGE KICK out of seeing a Starbucks in there- as we passed, I noticed in the pastry case that Croissants were going for a whopping $28. (But then remembered that it was in Hong Kong Dollars). Here is a picture of the really cool ceiling from the escalator. Can you see it was wavy? Very cool. Brett looks awfully happy, too.


Next we took the Star Ferry to the north end of Hong Kong Island itself. This was FUN! (Picture from the Ferry). The ferry seems to have been around forever. The sailors even where traditional blue sailor suits and white sailor caps! While approaching, you can see the entire skyline of buildings towering about. We docked in Hong Kong and made our way out off the piers. We walked around for a while, just to see the city. We went through a number of banks, as some are really amazing buildings. (Picture of our favorite- camera was practically completely vertical when taking it!) Many of the buildings are interconnected one the ground floors to bridges or outdoor walkways to avoid pedestrian traffic on the roads.


We considered taking the gondolas up to the peak to see the whole city, but the combination of a less than clear day and the gigantic line of people waiting steered us in a different direction- so, perhaps another day. We worked our way out of the most tourist heavy downtown and into the ex-pat community. This is a really interesting part of town because although it clearly is Asian, there are different cultural restaurants or shops everywhere you look. (Picture follows). We passed an Italian delicatessen- a British pub called "Yorkshire Pudding"- and all sorts of things. I don't know if this will make sense, but it reminded me of the "It's a Small World" ride, in that each country seems represented in a modern and very human way. Something for everyone.









We decided to try a Mexican restaurant and had a very welcome rest! Two fish tacos and some guacamole later, we were back on the road, headed through a reserve park. We stopped through an area with many different birds who were feeding on mangoes, kiwi and dragonfruit. They were all fun to watch, but the pelicans were by far the coolest! I can't believe how stretchy their mouths are- they fill with water, then seem to sift through like a whale looking for small fish or bites from water. Expandable mouths, very cool. The picture of us that follows is from behind a waterfall in that same park.









We also passed the LOUDEST frogs I have ever heard. Brett says that he's heard that during the rainy seasons (summertime), the frogs sometimes get swept into street drains and you can hear them, happy as clams, under the roads. Hmm...strange! There were also Koi fish and other cool animals.


I should mention here that I had my first experience on a "squat toilet." Which is exactly as scary as it sounds. Some of the public bathrooms have only this as an option. Luckily I was feeling adventurous enough to try. I laughed with a British woman who wasn't quite sure what was going on either! I suppose this would be a good time to mention that this trip down to Hong Kong was really the first time that I felt there were more westerners around. Up in Tai Po there are so few, that you find yourself catching eyes with other "white people" with knowing glances.

Our destination through the park was to the History of Tea Museum. We enjoyed a short trip through about 8 galleries. As the museum closed, we decided to head toward the pub where Brett and his group sang last month. It was small and smoky, but with a live show (a man playing guitar and singing), it was easy to imagine Brett rocking out in there. We considered going in, but Brett decided that they might have made him sing (once we realized it was open mic night). LOL- I guess maybe we should have.

Feeling like we needed another break, we found a British/American pub and decided it was time for a beer. This is a good time to mention how challenging our food allergies sometimes are here- they plopped down a basket of peanuts for us (Brett is allergic, for those of you who don't know- and I'm allergic to Shellfish. We are quite the pair trying to order food!) The difficult part is that sometimes we are trying to order something from a non-English speaker, and it's hard to communicate an allergy. I'm always willing to "try" something once, but it's a lot easier if you know you aren't allergic to it! To those who might be concerned about our reactions: we carry Benadryl with us at all times! :)


The pub turned out to be GREAT. It was a very long and narrow lot, and the pub was called "Slim Dog." We cracked up over the fact that they had Pyramid beer, from Seattle, because neither of us think it's worth importing this far! The greatest snack of all time is their $9.99 Saturday special- Sliders. Keep in mind that the conversion rate makes those sliders just over a dollar a piece. We ordered two and devoured them with spicy mustard, and promptly decided that we needed more! Our waiter was so nice putting up with us! (Another comment: you don't tip waiters here, so leaving extra money, even just a few dollars, is always appreciated).


Back on the street we decided that it was time to head toward home, as it was still quite a journey away. We took the Star Ferry back into Kowloon, and then the MTR back up to Tai Po. Boy, were my feet happy to be home! My blisters may have proved how far we walked, but the pictures and the experiences of the day will last longer! :)